Knitted cardigan “Comfort Fade Cardi” was one of my knitting goals this year (see my first goal setting post here). Here is the original Ravelry page for this cardi and here is my Ravelry project page. It was easy to knit, the fitting is fantastic and there’s something cool about the sleeves (which is weird – I’ve never thought about sleeves this way).

About the yarn. Pattern called for La Bien Aimée Merino DK. Unfortunately, it was too expensive for me. I needed 7 skeins of this yarn (8 if I wanted to be sure) and shipping as I would have to order it – I couldn’t justify that.

I have to admit, yarn substitution is my number one regret for this cardi. Not that mine came out somehow uglier or worse. I just loved the original colors that were used.

But, there is a silver lining. I discovered myself a new favorite yarn. Malabrigo Yarn Silky Merino! I would use this yarn again and again – it’s so soft and feels like a luxury, AND it doesn’t make my skin itch (I have gentle skin).

Now, as we talk about Malabrigo, I browsed their website and decided I really want to try:

• Chunky;
• Washted;
• Worsted (their new colors are yummy);
• Rios (I think I have a pattern in me for the color Melon 🙂 );
• Arroyo;
• Sock, and of course
• Silkpaca;

And, as I’m dreaming, I would love to have lots and lots of Mora (look at that shine). I’m already trying Malabrigo Lace with Toni’s KAL.

We are drifting… back to the knitted cardigan. I also need to add that I came short with the amount of yarn – I ordered the amount that pattern called for, but it’s my fault. I should have taken account that I knit tightly.

Note, that this cardigan is knitted in reverse Stockinette stitch. I didn’t notice this until I started with the first sleeve. It hit me like a wrecking ball 😀 (this is showing you how observant I am in my daily life).

All the purling scared me, but I found out that I could just knit the sleeves inside out like Dana described in her blog post (I really love her color choice, I mean… wow).

What I really love (besides those sleeves) is the collar. It’s worked using short rows and all the instructions are written down. Although I don’t have it as wide as the original pattern (due to the fact that my yarn ended) I still adore it.

Now, as I’m spilling everything, I think I need to tell you what I hated as well. Here it goes – I hated hiding yarn ends. I hate this part with all of my projects (and I feel like hate is not a strong enough word – loath maybe?).

In conclusion, I would recommend this knitted cardigan in a heartbeat. It’s fun, easy and knits up quickly. If you’re not particularly fond of the purl side being the right side then you can just reverse it and make the knit side your right side. And if you want more inspiration then check out Ravelry projects (I especially want to try out this pattern by changing it to a jumper as Knit-a-Zoo did).